In the provision of window and architectural passage coverings, the art has long relied on cords, string or the like to extend and retract the coverings. Such coverings take many forms, including shades such as curtains, roll-up shades, Venetian blinds, vertical blinds, cellular shades, and the like. A primary problem with such coverings that rely on cords is that small children can become entangled in the cords and experience serious harm, including strangulation and death. On Aug. 26, 2009, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a voluntary recall of all ¼ inch Oval Roll-up Blinds and Woolrich Roman Shades, including some 4.2 million roll-up blinds and 600,000 Roman shades, (http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09324.html). The Commission referenced the hazard that “[s]trangulations can occur if the lifting loops slide off the side of the blind and a child's neck becomes entangled on the free-standing loop or if a child places his/her neck between the lifting loop and the roll-up blind material.” Recent cited injuries include a report that “[i]n November 2007, a 1-year-old boy from Norridgewock, Me. became entangled and strangled in the lift cord loop of a roll-up blind that had fallen into his portable crib. In October 2008, a 13-month-old boy from Conway, AR was found with his head between the exposed inner cord and the cloth on the backside of a Roman shade. The cord was not looped around the boy's neck but rather ran from ear to ear and strangled the child.” Numerous manufacturers and retailers have followed the recall. Additional information may be found at: (http://www.windowcoverings.org).
In addition to the internal cords attached to the shade or blinds that can be pulled out and pose a problem, the pull cords, string and beaded cords in mechanical-based blinds and shades that are pulled on to draw up the blinds or shades also pose a risk since they also create a hazardous loop of sufficient diameter (12 inches according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission) for a small child to get their head tangled inside. The retrofit devices currently available (http://www.windowcoverings.org/how_to_retrofit.html) do not eliminate the hazardous loops created by the beaded cords even if they are tied to the wall with a tie-down device such as a Rollease™ product or with separated draw strings and/or cord stops that could still become tangled together to create a hazardous loop.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,035 discloses a window blind lift cord operating mechanism incorporated into the twist wand that rotates to control tilting of blind slats, wherein the operating mechanism for raising and lowering the blind and locking the blind in adjusted positions includes a lift member mounted for movement along an outer side of the wand that drives an engaging member inside the wand that engages the lift cords that also extend into a lengthwise cord passage inside the wand. The disclosed operating means also includes a lock means for locking the lift cord engaging member at selected positions along the wand. One problem with this configuration is the obvious entanglement issues that would result with the lift cords internal to a wand that is rotated to control tilting of the blind slats, wherein securing the cord within the rotating wand almost guarantees entanglement. In addition, the weight and force required to lift the bottom rail along with the blind slats would create a significant burden on the rotating gears that open and close the blind slats including the entire attachment of the wand to the headrail.
In consequence, the art is in need of improvement in coverings for architectural openings that maintains the functionality and aesthetics of previously developed coverings, but avoids their deficiencies, particularly their hazardous character regarding the risk of injury or death associated with the use of cord arrangements. The art also is in need of a new structural “fix” for the lifting mechanism of shades and blinds that avoids creating a hazardous loop.